good morning people!

so i've been in the "mama at home" cloud all summer. soaking up the baby snuggles knowing i'm heading back to work... and it just struck me - i made some pretty loft goals this year and i'm not really putting any mind to them. so here's my update in hopes to get my butt in gear!


my goals...

+ grow produce in 2 {if not 3!!} of our raised beds - we planted all 3 beds! i'm not keeping up on them as i should, but we are grabbing tomatoes, garlic and lettuce now and again! so i'm pretty pleased with this. 

+ work on our general menu plan for the family so that two dinners a week are local, seasonal meals {right now we have one night a week as our "in season" night}- yes! i just recently made a 3 week menu to help streamline my kitchen time and this is totally happening! i'm not sure about the winter days when we are low on local goods in our pantry, but so far so good!

+ work on our general menu plan for the family so that either our main breakfast for the week, or our main lunch for the week are local, seasonal meals.- yes! our lunches are leftovers and our breakfast always consists of eggs from our chickens or a local chicken farmer's brood {it is becoming clear that our ladies are at the end of their prime laying and are not producing as much as they were. we have only purchased one dozen eggs so far this summer though, we have not had any extras to save for the winter}

that leaves me with the following two goals...
+ research raising our own meat and ways to extend our growing season at our home
+ consider renewable energy resources that might work for our home

i am very interested in both of these concepts so i am often thinking/researching these ideas. however, the plans we are considering are not in this year's budget. so i had hoped that maybe we could act on these *research and consider* goals, but i don't think we will this year. 

oh good, i'm not so far off! a little more research to round out the future plan and i'll call it done for the year!

 happy monday friends!

{in the kitchen} baby's first foods

hello there!

some exciting stuff around here... our little one is trying out some tasty {solid} morsels!

we've been on our breastfeeding journey and starting around 5 months our guy showed so much interest in what was going on at the dinner table... since then he has tried a few bites too {did i mention my baby is 8 months old?!}!

we chose to feed our little j soft real foods that are cut in ways to be easily held. or can be served up on a spoon for him to feed himself. at the beginning - when he was six months old - his daily meal(s) were more about being at the family table and touching real food and less about what nutrients made it into his body. we were still breastfeeding around the clock and family dinner was when we chose to have his meal type experience. my husband and i have always been excited about being at the table as a family, talking and sharing about what happened in our days. this is why we've decided to make it j's social solid foods eating time.

now that we are two months in our guy is a pro and LOVES to eat! sometimes we serve up purees while most of the time we are making sure our foods are provided to him in safe ways to eat {soft, sometimes mashed, often on a spoon} he chats with us and his crazy babbles {plus the few words he says basically daily - mama, dada, and "Ebba" for our dog Etta}

how we knew we were ready...

+we were given the okay by our doctor - due to his head control and subsiding "tongue thrust" our pediatrician shared that she was more than comfortable with him starting to experience some foods. in fact, she was ready before we were! it was so nice to have that go-ahead. and it got this mama dreaming about messy hands and gummy sweet potato smiles!

+he couldn't help himself when mom and pop were eating - grabbing at all the things, staring at whatever was going in our mouths, we knew his interest was there.

+we researched - after throughly reading about 'baby led weaning' we found that we liked the real food, just keep it safe, eat what the family is type approach.

+we took baby steps - once we knew he was interested we had a few weeks where during dinner time he would sit in his high chair (this kid's core strength is unreal) and would touch and play with a little bowl, spoon and cup while we ate dinner and all talked together. he LOVED it from the first meal so we thought he would attend to food once we felt more prepared to start our route to solid foods.


what is working well for us...

+cutting up foods so he can hold it

+foods he likes - he can go with bananas in all the foods! but we also eat avocado, peas, sweet potato, pumpkin, prunes, blueberries, papaya and more...

+doing the 4 day rule - only trying one new food every 4 days or so. this way if a food allergy is present it will hopefully surface prior to introducing the next new food and we will know that we need to be careful around whatever food he ate just before symptoms arrived.

+peanut butter - check with your pediatrician on this one, but ours suggested moving forward with the current thinking that younger babies should try peanut butter (watered down, so no choking hazard); we waited until he had tried many solids and had no allergic reactions to anything.

+having our pup, Etta, take care of the dirty work - our little babe and pup are just such good friends already. and now our girl loves this baby boy even more because of all the snacks she sneaks from the floor under his spot at the table.

any mamas have real food/baby led weaning tips to share? or are you interested and want to learn more? check out this Real Food Mamas Podcast - Episode #49: BLW in the Kitchen

have a good one!!

NOURISH::LOVE + SELF CARE

hey there loves!

i've been thinking a lot about nourish {my word for the year} and self care. i'm learning about what it looks like for me to give myself some permission to pause, to take what i need.

what fills me up? right now i crave time with my little family in a low scheduled sort of way. a haircut? yes, i'm in dire need but the morning my husband said "go. go to Target and then run to the salon, we will be here when you get back." i was exhausted and hadn't slept well for several nights- an extra 30 minutes of sleep and an uninterrupted breakfast was all i wanted. if i sat for a haircut i would surely nod off and walking the dollar spot was the last thing i thought would make me feel rested that particular morning.

however i've found a few things that seem to really be worth my efforts right now...

i'm investing an evening a week to starting a yoga practice at a studio. this has immensely helped my muscles open up and i'm gaining some flexibility in the poses i practice at home during the rest of the week. honestly, just what i needed.

and i'm trying to phrase the little bits of time when i'm working on our home in a way that fills me up. it is true, some nights when my husband asks how he can help - all i want is a clean floor and an empty sink. i was very inspired by this essay and i'm using a similar thought while tidying up our home.

and of course - podcasts! - i took some time away from listening to the talking because i needed the quiet, but now i'm up for a little chat here and there while doing dishes, laundry or cleaning the kitchen. my little j loves music but doesn't seem to mind hearing talking voices when he plays and i start to make dinner.

what do you do for self care? how do you nourish yourself to stay well for your families?

need some inspiration? try out...

these words from jennifer, katie, stephanie and aglaee.


happy new week!

Homesteading Goals for 2017

good morning there!

i was a bit inspired by this post from Homestead Honey and it made me want to consider some solid, obtainable goals for this year on our homestead...

first off, in 2016 we put in the start of our raised bed garden, set up a safe composting system, took care of our chickens {their home + eggs}, grew seedlings, and jarred up some goodness to save! i would file it as a successful year - as i also spent all of 2016 growing our first child!

this year {2017!!} I would like to work on these few obtainable goals...
+ grow produce in 2 {if not 3!!} of our raised beds
+ work on our general menu plan for the family so that two dinners a week are local, seasonal meals {right now we have one night a week as our "in season" night}
+ work on our general menu plan for the family so that either our main breakfast for the week, or our main lunch for the week are local, seasonal meals.
+ research raising our own meat and ways to extend our growing season at our home
+ consider renewable energy resources that might work for our home

how exciting! these goals definitely feel inline with my word of the year - "nourish" too... i think i feel some momentum gathering!
happy monday, friends.

nourish in my 2017

this year i have a focus of 'nourish' to help me pursue my goals + passions.

in 2017 i will NOURISH

.: family :.

.: garden :.

.: home :.

.: health :.

.: family rituals + routines for simple living :.

.: family seasonal traditions :.

how about you, sitting on some pretty lofty 2017 goals?

{nourish} :: my word for 2017

happy new year, dear ones!

i hope there was plenty of joy in your holiday season - enough to carry you into the new year!

2016 was a year where "cultivate" was my focus. it was personally an exciting year too - a year of growth and welcoming our little one into the world!

in 2017 i've decided to continue with a specific word to help me see through goals and passions each day + season. 

i wanted a word that would inspire efforts, work, and thinking centered around...

caring for my home, family and self

being mindful of balance + health as we find ways that our family thrives

prioritizing growing foods + planning a seasonal menu with local foods to feed this family

2017 is a year for NOURISH

enjoy some slow as we start off this beautiful year! 

thanks for spending some of your precious time with me.
happy 2017!